BPL Community Profile

Buck Nelson
(Colter) -
BPL Lifetime Member

My Locale

Alaska

About Me

I have recently retired as a career smokejumper. Like most Backpackinglight members I enjoy my outdoor adventures, such as thru-hiking the AT, CDT, the Desert Trail and PCT. I recently completed a 1,000 mile traverse of northern Alaska. You can see photos and the stories at my website.

All Forum Posts by Buck Nelson

Looks like a pretty good listDepending on where you land, you should be able to hang your food nearby. There are some fairly big trees around Circle Lake and the Alatna River. Just do a good job hanging your food, between two ...

#1 adjustment: my attitudeThere have been some good suggestions here that will help, no doubt, but simple tolerance is equally important.
I spent 70 days in the rain forest of SE Alaska last summer. Needless to say there...

Re: Re: Re: bacteria"I remember a study once documenting that you were more likely to get sick drinking city water than you were drinking untreated creek water."
I don't think there are any profession...

Re: Alaskans are like that.Where's all the rescues out of Nome, Arctic Village, Fairbanks, Bethel? Why the grouping in NW Alaska?
I suspect it's primarily a matter of attitude. A SPOT rescue becomes more acceptabl...

Why I don't like the bug bivy route...And let me state at the get-go ymmv hyoh and etc.
When I did the A.T. I had a tarp and a bug bivy. It was fairly cutting edge at the time, at least I thought so. I laid there in my bug bivy, th...

All Reader Reviews by Buck Nelson

Marmot Hydrogen (2004 model)I've got an older model with the shorter zipper that weighs 23 oz. I use it with my warm clothing (down jacket, balaclava, long underwear) on the coldest nights. I've slept toasty down into th...

SMD Wild OasisI got my Six Moon Designs Wild Oasis for the Pacific Crest Trail. I already had the SMD Lunar Solo, which I love, but decided to save a few more ounces with the Wild Oasis. I planned to switch to the ...

ULA Helix "Ice Axe" Potty TrowelI bought one at the "kick-off" to use on the PCT. It broke when I was chopping snow to melt for drinking water. I was appalled when I looked at the broken pieces to see how weak this "i...

Everestgear.com Customer ServiceI hiked the Continental Divide Trail last summer. In New Mexico there were two pieces of new gear I wanted. A friend put in an order with Everestgear.com on my behalf to be delivered to Ghost Ranch. W...

PossumDown Gloves (BPL Gear Shop)I used these gloves on my CDT hike. Ultralight hiking is all about tradeoffs, and these gloves were a good compromise. Under normal cool conditions, say to just below freezing, they were quite warm. T...

Pak-Lite White SuperThis is a very good light. I'm giving it a 4 instead of a 5 because this is the Backpackinglight website, and there are other lights that are much smaller, lighter, and do a similarly good job. Fo...